hide it from him, but he's been waiting for it, so he finds it anyway.
They're engaged. Nate proposed at Christmas in front of family and
friends… Serena cried. The wedding will take place in seven months. They
couldn't even wait the full year.
Dan runs into Blair a few weeks
later. She's bossing around some florist on the phone, and Dan figures
she's steering the wedding planning ship with Lily and Nate's mom. Blair
notices him, and surprisingly comes over to say hello. Dan isn't sure
how to approach this unexpected turn of events, so he mostly plays the
mute.
"Sorry, Humphrey," she says at last.
"For what?" He
asks, even though he damn well knows what she's referring to. She
doesn't bother to answer, just cocks her perfectly waxed eyebrow up at
him. "Oh… I wish them well." He gives her the standard line.
"Big
of you," she laughs to herself. She seems like she's going to say
something else, but Chuck arrives at her side before she can. Chuck
glares, Dan rolls his eyes, and Blair grins. This has always been the
sum of their interactions. "Time to go, darling." She purrs at Chuck,
and Dan turns away.
"Humphrey," Chuck sneers in his direction,
before heading for the double doors to call his limo around.
"Always
a pleasure," Dan calls after him. He turns back to Blair then, and an
uncomfortable silence lingers. "She seems happy," he finally says.
Blair
nods. "She is happy… she loves him." Blair isn't trying to twist the
knife. She's stating fact, and Dan thinks he might be ready to accept
that. "Have a good life." She tells him, and with one last fleeting look
she's out the door. Dan watches as she meets Chuck outside. She kisses
him peckishly and then laughs at whatever teasing thing Chuck says to
her. Dan won't miss them, he never really liked them, but it's just
another piece of his life that has faded.
Dan runs into Nate three
months after the wedding. He's tan, and sporting some serious stubble.
Dan tries to hide behind a rack of clothes, but Nate spots him and comes
over. They stand face to face for the first time since Nate stole the
love of Dan's life, and neither know what to say.
"How's it
going?" Nate finally opts for the obvious.
"Fine. You?" Dan
returns very civilized.
"Good." Nate bobs his head assertively,
and Dan can tell he'd rather be anywhere but there. Nate is at heart a
nice guy though, and can't just ignore Dan's very existence, no matter
how much Dan wishes he would. "So…"
"Congratulations on the
wedding." Dan says and he's halfway to meaning it.
"Thanks…" Nate
looks around for a moment, before he turns back to Dan. It seems hard
for him to meet Dan's eyes, but he finally does. "Look man, I'm sorry
about everything that went down… she never meant to…" Nate doesn't
finish that thought. Maybe he realizes how ill advised it is to rub salt
into old wounds. Whatever the reason Dan is grateful.
"Water
under the bridge," Dan says and feels closer to being okay than he has
in a while. "See you around." Dan waves at him and walks away.